Family planning officials are examining discussions on the internet that say Zhang has fathered up to seven children with four women. If he is found to have violated the laws, he could be fined nearly $US27 million because the fines are based on the offender's income, according to a report in the online edition of People's Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party.

An official in a propaganda office attached to the family planning committee of Jiangsu province, near Shanghai on the east coast, confirmed the substance of the People's Daily report, published on Wednesday.

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Calls to the family planning committee of Wuxi, the city where Chen Ting, Zhang's second wife, is registered as a resident, went unanswered on Thursday.

Family planning laws generally restrict families to one child, and fines are levied for extra children. But there are numerous exceptions. Many rural families and ethnic minorities are allowed to have more than one child without penalty.

Zhang (left) with Christian Bale on the set of The Flowers of War. Photo: Wrekin Hill Entertainment

Xinhua, the state news agency, said the local family planning committee would release the results of its investigation into Zhang soon.

Zhang's most recent feature film was The Flowers of War starring Christian Bale. China entered it in the Oscars for best foreign film of 2011.

Early in his career, Zhang made a string of films that became popular on the international festival circuit and in foreign art theatres. They included Red Sorghum, Raise the Red Lantern and To Live, adaptations of well-known literary works.

Jet Li in Hero (2002).

He achieved commercial success with Hero, a martial arts film that was presented globally by Quentin Tarantino, and was commissioned by Communist Party leaders to direct the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics in Beijing in 2008.

Zhang, 61, is a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a sort of honorary legislature whose seats are often distributed by the party as political rewards.

His critics say he has changed over the years from a director with an uncompromising vision to one who bows to the whims of party officials.

The House of Flying Daggers (2004). Photo: Supplied

In an interview with The New York Times last year, Zhang said censorship "can't be changed, and it will be there in the future". He added: "Foreigners think that because I did the opening ceremony of the Olympics, I have certain privileges. But in fact it's not like that at all. In front of censorship, everyone is equal."

Zhang could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

Scholars have been pushing recently to end the one-child policy, which critics say has led to forced abortions and sterilisations. Some economists say China will face a dwindling pool of young workers and that it no longer makes sense to continue the policy.

Further, for economic reasons, the birth rate in China is falling, especially in urban areas.

There is no reliable public report that gives the exact number of children Zhang has with Chen, an actress.

The recent surge of interest in Zhang's children among Chinese internet users appeared to have begun on Monday, when Southern Entertainment Weekly published an article saying the couple had two sons and a daughter. That assertion has not been independently confirmed and the article did not name the sources.

The reporter and a photographer camped outside Zhang's many homes in Beijing. The photographer followed a car of his to the airport and witnessed what appeared to be some family members emerging from it, the story said.

Zhang has a daughter with his first wife, Xiao Hua, whom he divorced about the time he was in a relationship with Gong Li, who starred in Zhang's early films and became China's best-known actress.

The daughter, Zhang Mo, is about 30 and studied filmmaking at New York University. She has worked as a film editor for her father and was an interpreter for Bale on The Flowers of War.

The People's Daily report indicated there was speculation that Zhang might have three other children with two other women, but did not identify them.